MP won't run in next election

Chris Windeyer
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Dec 18/06) - Endless travel and time on the road have taken a toll on Nancy Karetak-Lindell.

On Friday, the four-term Liberal MP for Nunavut announced she won't seek another term in Ottawa.

NNSL Photo/graphic

After nine years on Parliament Hill, Karetak-Lindell announced at a press conference last Friday she won't seek another term. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

"It has taken its toll on me," Karetak-Lindell said during a press conference in Iqaluit shortly before getting on a plane bound for her home town of Arviat.

In a letter to constituents, Karetak-Lindell said she needs to spend more time with her four sons and two granddaughters and feels she can no longer live up to her own standards as an MP.

"If I can't give 100 per cent I don't think it's fair to the constituents," she told reporters.

Karetak-Lindell said being MP for Nunavut as it became a territory was one of the highlights of her parliamentary career. The job has been a chance to raise Nunavut's profile in Canada and abroad.

"We live in the gem of the country," she said. People outside Canada "marvel that we can change the map of Canada without bloodshed."

Liberal riding association president Alain Carriere said the party has a short list of potential candidates for the next election. He wouldn't let on who they are, but said the next Liberal candidate will have a high standard to live up to.

"It will be a very big task to fill Nancy's shoes," Carriere said.

"I'm only size seven," she shot back.

Karetak-Lindell was re-elected in January, easily beating Conservative David Aglukkaq Sr. by 1,000 votes. She said she'll stay on the job until the next federal election is called.

That could be as early as the spring. Liberal leader Stephane Dion, whom Karetak-Lindell supported in the party's recent leadership race, told the Globe and Mail newspaper Friday he would likely oppose the Conservative's February budget. The Bloc Quebecois has also indicated they would try to topple the government then, sending Canadians to the polls for the second time in just over a year.